Cycling: Five ways to re-invent the wheel on how we all travel – Yorkshire Post Letters

ACTIONS that could be taken to encourage active forms of travel around our streets include:

1) Reducing traffic speeds by introducing a 20mph speed limit throughout the urban Harrogate and Knaresborough District, as this is one of the key factors for increasing safety and confidence for many people who want to try cycling.

2) Make it illegal to park in cycle lanes so cyclists do not have to move into the flow of traffic to avoid parked cars.

3) Create traffic exclusion zones around schools at peak school run times to discourage car use. This is one of the largest contributors to town congestion and it would be good to address this before old habits are re-established.

4) Introduce modal filtering in many of our neighbourhoods to stop side roads being used as rat runs. These can be readily implemented with semi-permanent barriers, such as large plant holders, to let pedestrians and cyclists through but not cars. They can contribute to making our streets and neighbourhoods safer for road users other than car drivers.

5) Build secure cycle storage in schools and at several points around town. As we come out of lockdown, we have never had a better opportunity to re-invent what we do and how we travel.

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James Mitchinson

Editor